Take Me To Church
by Lyra Verse
Summary: It is 1860. Rick is a genteel Southern gentleman; Michonne is the daughter of a voodoo priestess. After a mysterious encounter with Michonne one evening, Rick's life is changed forever. AU.
1. Chapter 1

\- Taking this out of the 'Tales in the Dark' series because this one is going to end up being five chapters or more so I'm making it a multi-chapter fic of its own.

And in the reviews, some of you pointed out that I had written in the date as 1890 when slavery was abolished in 1865. That was a typo. I've corrected the date. -

 **Chapter One: Take Me To Church**

The sun beat down sweltering and hot on the small town square of King's County. It was 1860 and the town was quiet and silent – almost as if no life was there. But that's just because it was Sunday. And on Sunday, everyone gathered at Church for the weekly service.

Rick Grimes was no exception.

He had been brought up as a fine civil gentleman since his baptism as a baby. His mom and dad taught him manners, his teacher taught him two plus two, and his Church taught him right from wrong. Or it was supposed to.

His back ramrod straight, he only lost focus on the preacher when the woman beside him tapped a finger gingerly against his knee. He turned to her and his blue eyes met her hazel ones. She had a sweet face, dimples, and blonde hair. Her name was Jessie Anderson.

Jessie had been sweet on Rick – who had lost his wife about a year ago - for a while. Ever since she moved into town with her husband, Pete Anderson. But Pete hadn't been long for this world. He had fallen ill to a mysterious sickness and died just two months after arriving.

A year had passed and now Jessie and Rick were betrothed. They were both from well-to-do families and Rick had long made a name for himself by forgoing politics (unlike the other men in his family) and electing to be sheriff of King's County instead. And Jessie had inherited her husband's fortune.

Everyone expected the two to get together once Jessie's period of grieving was over. It just made sense for two good looking people such as themselves to move on from their past grievances together.

Rick had at first refused the thought but his mother – who glanced over at Rick and Jessie from the end of her pew and smiled gently at them - soon talked him into courting the younger woman. She was sweet enough. And he did still want children.

His past wife Lori had left him without child or spouse when she had died in childbirth with their first child.

Jessie held out the palm of her hand and Rick placed his hand on top of hers, a small indulgent smile on his face. When she clenched her fingers tight around his hand, he turned to face the front again and shifted in his seat. He wondered for the thousandth time if this was really what he wanted.

The sermon started and Rick listened to all the things that were supposed to make sense. But nothing did.

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Once the Sunday service was over, Rick made his way outside with Jessie and his mom. He stood by and exchanged short greetings while the two women shared long conversations about the weather and the upcoming marriage.

Rick's eyes wandered to the road leading out of town and he was taken aback when he saw one of the dark-skinned priestesses that lived just on the outskirts of town standing there staring at him. Time seemed to stop for a moment and a chill traveled up his spine.

 _~ My lover's got humor_

 _She's the giggle at a funeral_

 _Knows everybody's disapproval_

 _I should've worshiped her sooner ~_

The dark-skinned priestesses were a free Negro family that had lived in King's County as long as anyone could remember. Mystery surrounded them and hardly anyone knew anything about them. They just knew to stay away. Preacher Givens had just used the dark priestesses as examples of sin in the sermon Rick had just come from. But everyone was too scared to do anything about them. The most the citizens of King's County could do was make sure the five women stayed out of the town for the most part. They had been banned after a giant storm had come through destroying crops and buildings in King's County. The people thought the priestesses had somehow conjured the storm as an act of vengeance because their home had been burned the day before.

Of course Rick thought it was all nonsense. He didn't believe in magic. Dark or otherwise. But he had enforced the relocation of the priestesses all the same. He thought it was best for everyone that way. He remembered the looks on the women's faces as they had been kicked out. Mostly because they didn't look surprised or upset at all. They just looked as if it was all to be expected. And that haunted Rick more than if they would have cried or screamed injustice.

Now the women could only be seen every now and again, coming in and out of town for needed supplies. The citizens of King's County still weren't happy but they accepted it. For now.

Rick wondered now why the woman was just standing there. It was the one with the strange dreadlocked hairstyle. It was piled into a bun on the top of her head. He remembered her most of all because there was a quiet strength and grace about her. He had found himself watching her on many occasions. He had never heard her speak and he would wonder what her voice sounded like.

Today, she wore an off-white dress that hung to her ankles. It was nothing special but she somehow looked regal. The breeze of the day blew and Rick could make out her form beneath the fabric.

Rick's stomach gave a strange twist and he took a deep breath.

 _~ If the heavens ever did speak_

 _She is the last true mouthpiece_

 _Every Sunday's getting more bleak_

 _A fresh poison each week_

" _We were born sick." You heard them say it ~_

Rick felt a tap on his arm and he almost jumped out of his skin.

"Whoa," Jessie said, a playful smile pulling at her lips. "You okay?"

"Yeah...yeah, I'm okay..." Rick said. He turned back to the road leading out of town, but the dark-skinned woman was no longer there.

Jessie peered curiously into the direction he was looking but didn't see anything. "Come on," she said, gently pulling Rick's arm. "We have to get going. The sun will be getting high soon. I don't have my parasol."

"Oh...okay," Rick said. He glanced one more time at the road and then allowed Jessie to take his elbow and lead him down the road toward Rick's house where Rick had invited her over for tea. They bid Rick's mother goodbye. She would be following behind them in the horse and carriage she had arrived in. A slaveboy was fixing the saddles of the horses as they spoke.

Rick walked with Jessie and listened as she talked. But he couldn't shake the feeling of the dark priestess's eyes from his skin.

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Rick, Jessie, and his mother sat around in the living room drinking afternoon tea.

"You have really beautiful skin," Mrs. Grimes was saying. "You're wise to keep it out of the sun. I had a cousin, poor thing, who ruined her skin by not taking care of it properly."

Rick became lost in his thoughts as the two of them spoke, his mind wandering once again to the mysterious priestess.

"Rick-" He was quickly pulled from his thoughts by his mom's voice. "He doesn't talk much and he doesn't express his feelings well, but he'll be a good husband to you."

Jessie smiled at Rick who attempted to smile back. "I know he will," she said.

"What would make him happiest is to give him a child. His poor deceased wife – we suspect she was sick in the womb – so it took much too long for her to get with child and then she couldn't handle the stress of childbirth. But you...you look healthy so hopefully there will be a different outcome."

"I'm going to excuse myself," Rick said, standing up. It still hurt him to be reminded of his ex-wife. They had trouble in their marriage and there had been a lot of regrets after her death. "I'm going to go stretch my legs. Maybe go down to the pub and talk to Hershel Greene's boy about the Dixons' missing pigs."

"Okay," his mother said. "I'll continue to tell your soon-to-be wife old war stories of you and your brothers. You kids definitely gave your father and me a hard time."

Rick chuckled politely at his mom's joke and went to the foyer to gather his jacket. He paused at the wide open window when once again he saw her.

His brow furrowed.

She was standing in the middle of town just staring in at him. He glanced around and saw that no pedestrians were walking by.

He grabbed his jacket and went to hurry out the front door.

Once he stepped outside, he saw that she was gone. Again. He only saw the hem of her white gown disappearing around the side of Jim's shoe polishing business. He followed after her.

He followed her past the candy shop and the Walsh's plantation. When she glanced over her shoulder and then kept going, he knew that he was supposed to be following her. She was leading him somewhere.

He followed her into the woods and barely kept her in his sights. When he lost her, he called out. "Miss? Miss!"

He stopped in his tracks and wondered if he should go back. His mind was telling him to do so. But something else kept him going forward. He heard the creek running nearby and followed the sounds of the water. It soon came into sight and he walked along the water's edge until he saw a discarded piece of fabric. It was an off-white dress.

He looked up to see the dark-skinned woman bathing farther down the stream. Only her head could be seen. He quickly closed his eyes and stumbled backwards.

"I'm sorry," he called. "I was following you to see what you're doing out here," he explained with his eyes closed. "It's dangerous to come out here alone. You're usually with your sisters. Or your mom."

When he didn't receive a reply, he opened his eyes half expecting her to have disappeared again. But she was still there, treading water. The water was clear and steady so he could somewhat make out her body beneath the surface. He quickly glanced away. "What's your name?" he asked.

When she didn't answer him immediately, he began to wonder if maybe she was mute.

But finally she spoke. And he no longer had to wonder what her voice sounded like.

"Michonne," she answered.

It was slightly deep and smooth. And evoked the image of the honey his grandmother used to make when he was little.

"Michonne," he said, his tongue testing the foreign sounding name.

He remembered her looking at him outside the church. And then outside his home. "Is there something you want to say to me, Michonne?" he ventured to ask.

He dared to glance at her again only to see her shake her head.

"Then why have you come to town looking for me?" he asked. "Because it is me you're looking for, isn't it?"

Once again she didn't answer and Rick looked in her direction.

She stood from the water and Rick's eyes ran down her smooth, naked form. Her breasts were firm bulbs and her stomach was a taut muscle leading to the womanhood that dipped between her thighs. He dropped his eyes to the ground, blushing strongly. She was the first woman whose naked form he had laid his eyes on since his wife died. And she was perfection.

 _~ My church offers no absolutes_

 _She tells me, "Worship in the bedroom."_

 _The only heaven I'll be sent to_

 _Is when I'm alone with you ~_

Michonne hoisted herself out of the creek and took a step toward Rick. He took a step back. This was what his parents and the church warned him about. This was sin personified.

"Stay back," Rick said, his voice deep. But he couldn't keep his voice from shaking. He couldn't keep his eyes from straying. And he couldn't keep his loins from stirring.

Before he knew it, Michonne was upon him and his back was pushing against a tree. He was trapped. He had the urge to reach for his weapon but he knew he hadn't brought it with him. And he knew he wouldn't have used it if he had.

"This is wrong," he said, trying to keep his body from responding. Trying to remind himself about everything he had been taught.

"Why?" she asked, her breath hot against his neck.

She unbuttoned his vest.

"I'm engaged to be married," Rick choked out.

Michonne paused. She then ran her hand along his chest and settled it on his heart. Rick tensed and waited. "No, you're not," Michonne finally said. She ran her hand down to the front of his trousers and grasped his bulge. Rick knew he was lost.

 _~ I was born sick. But I love it._

 _Command me to be well_

 _Amen. Amen. Amen. ~_

Rick's head fell back against the bark of the tree as Michonne, on her knees, took him into her mouth. He was conscious of the way the sunlight filtered through the leaves of the surrounding trees. He was conscious of how the warmth from that light touched his skin and felt like instant comfort. But more than anything else, he was conscious of her.

In all of his years of living on the Earth and hearing different people interpret the Lord's word, he had never in all of his life felt closer to God than in that moment.

He marveled at that. The irony. Because he knew what he did was sinful. What _she_ did was sinful.

Rick trembled as Michonne engulfed him with her tongue and lips. Taking him in passionately then drawing back slowly and gently. His breathing would go away with each bob of her head then be given back to him each time she drew away. It frightened him how she could control him with such a simple and unholy act. His wife had never pleased him in such a way before. He figured maybe he had been wrong all along. Maybe dark magic did exist.

She drew away from him completely and Rick's mind told him to take that chance to pull his pants up and run. But instead he stepped out of them, his erect manhood swaying slightly with the movement.

Rick then took his off his jacket, vest, and white button up tunic. He maintained eye contact with Michonne all the while. If she was using will of mind over him, let her. He was submitting to her control.

Michonne took Rick's discarded clothing and laid out the jacket, then the vest below it, then the tunic on a lush of grass. She then laid herself on top of them, slowly opened her legs for Rick, and then waited for him to come to her. For she knew he would.

Rick's heart pounded in his chest and he made his way toward the devilish woman. For she must be the devil to tempt him in this way. He took to his knees in front of her and he kissed her foot. Then her shin. He reverently made his way slowly up her thigh. When he seemed to make his way toward her womanhood, Michonne's hands suddenly blocked him.

He looked up with a question in his eyes.

"You don't have to," she said.

"I want to," Rick replied huskily. And it was the truth. He had never wanted to taste anyone as much as he wanted to taste the mysterious stranger beneath him. Her thick scent was calling to him.

A hint of perplexion flashed across Michonne's features before she moved her hands.

Rick kissed the inside of her thigh again, marveling at the smoothness of her skin and the scent of her arousal one last time before he placed his lips against her center and indulged.

 _~ Take me to church_

 _I'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies_

 _I'll tell you my sins so you can sharpen your knife_

 _Offer me that deathless death_

 _Good God, let me give you my life ~_

His tongue found her center through the soft hairs that grew around her womanly folds and he lapped at her as a starving man would lap at water in a desert.

Michonne's back arched up off of the ground and Rick knew he was succeeding in giving her just as much pleasure as she had given him.

He sucked at her center and heard her gasp for air as she rolled her hips against him. And that was all he needed. He no longer cared how uncivil this was. How unclean. He no longer felt any shame. Unlike with his wife, who gave him endless restrictions because pleasure wasn't holy or classy, he found complete freedom between this woman's thighs. Be she angel or devil. He longed to make a moan fall from her lips.

He held his hand against her stomach and moved his thumb against her center until he heard her gasp again. He had found the most sensitive part of her. And he rejoiced.

He moved his thumb against her fast and gentle as he pushed his tongue in and out of her and she increasingly began to roll her hips with wanton desire. Then it came. The sound that might as well had been a thousand angels singing. "Ohh," she moaned.

Rick increased pressure and speed on her sensitive bud and she sucked air between her teeth before releasing another moan and bucking more wildly against him. She grasped at the grass beside her and Rick knew she was close. He reached out with his hand that wasn't pleasuring her and grasped his hand over hers just as she began to pulse with a climax. He wanted to be connected to her in every way possible.

Her juices spilled out over his tongue and he drank every drop.

 _~ If I'm a pagan of the good times_

 _My lover is the sunlight_

 _To keep the Goddess on my side_

 _She demands a sacrifice_

 _To drain the whole sea_

 _Get something shiny ~_

Rick stared up in awe as Michonne rode atop him, her breasts bouncing with each roll of her hips. He reached up and grabbed one of her smooth mounds as his he lost himself in pleasure between her walls. She engulfed him warm and wet. He felt like he was being baptized all over again.

Rick marveled at the unhindered pleasure that played across Michonne's face as she moved up and down on his manhood and pushed her pelvis against his pelvis. He grasped both of her breasts and tweaked the nipples with his thumbs. She bit her lip between her teeth and rode him harder.

"Yes. Michonne. Please." He wasn't sure what he was begging for but the words tumbled from his lips all the same.

Michonne slowed her pace but began to circle her hips, giving him an intense pleasure that he had never felt before. His eyes fluttered closed just as much as he fought to keep them open. He wanted to see the sunlight dancing across her mahogany skin. To see her face expressing the moment his hardness gave her the most pleasure inside. To see her hands coming up to grasp at her hair which was now loose from their passion.

It came tumbling down around her shoulders.

He groaned and felt himself close to coming inside of her. He found her bud of nerves with his thumb again and began to stimulate her as she undulated on top of him. He wanted to reach climax with her. "I'm close," he ground out. "I'm close."

"Yes," Michonne encouraged as she rode him faster still, her hands now pushing against his chest while he grabbed her hips helping her come against him. "Give it to me," she whispered. "Give it all to me."

Her fevered words brought Rick over the edge. His muscles tensed at the peak of pleasure and Michonne felt his warm seed fill her. The spasm of his hips brought her own orgasm shattering from her body.

Rick felt intense happiness and then crushing disappointment when he realized it was over. Michonne collapsed against his chest, her dreads brushing against his chest. And he realized that he hadn't just had a heavenly experience with a Goddess. He had fucked a Negro woman in the middle of a forest. That's how anyone looking from the outside in would see it. He sighed.

"I don't want this to end," he whispered.

 _~ Something meaty for the main course_

 _That's a fine looking high horse_

 _What you got in the stable?_

 _We've a lot of starving faithful_

 _That looks tasty_

 _That looks plenty_

 _This is hungry work ~_

He kissed her lips and tasted her skin until he was ready again.

Hovering over her, he poised himself at her entrance. Waiting for him to enter her again, she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He stroked her cheek. "Are you bewitching me?" he asked.

"No," she replied.

Rick slowly pushed into her and he was in heaven once again. "Liar," he whispered.

 _~ No masters or kings when the ritual begins_

 _There is no sweeter innocence than our gentle sin ~_

He slowly pushed in and out of her, letting her soft sighs and moans dictate his next moves. When she began to move her hips with him, meeting him thrust for thrust, he raised himself up onto his arms so that he could stare into her face.

She showed no shame at her obvious desire.

Rick's eyes darkened with unadulterated desire of his own and he leaned down to give her another passionate kiss. His tongue danced with hers as he began to push into her more urgently. Michonne moaned and continued to push her hips against his.

"Yes, Rick," Michonne whispered into his ear when he broke the kiss. "Fill me."

His name coming from her lips sent Rick into another heated passion. He ground out his need of her in hard, slow thrusts.

He was surprised when she stopped him in the middle of their coital dance but her intentions soon became clear when she turned over onto her hands and knees.

Having seen nothing but dogs mate in that position, he placed his hand on her waist to turn her back over onto her back, but Michonne swiped his hand away and gave him the gentle command, "Like this."

She reached between them and guided his manhood into her wet center once again. Once he was inside, she began to roll her hips, her ample bottom making contact with his pelvis and in full view of his eyes. Rick rested his hand on her moving hips and his eyes hooded with desire. He had never seen such an enticing sight. There was nothing disgraceful about it. It was pure beauty.

He held Michonne's hips and pushed into her. She moaned and pushed back into him.

They soon maintained a steady rhythm with an increasing pace. Their breaths and the sound of skin on skin broke up the silence of the afternoon forest.

"Michonne," Rick breathed. Her foreign name now felt familiar on his lips. "Michonne," he said again. "Michonne." A mantra on the evening air.

He fell forward and embraced her from behind. First caressing her swinging breasts and then moving his hand down to fondle her bundle of nerves. She pounded into him faster. He rubbed the pads of his fingers against her center, knowing she was close when she began to moan.

Rick felt his own climax coming once again. He held off on releasing his seed until he felt the priestess's walls begin to clench around him and a scream of fulfillment left her lips. Her clenching walls coaxed an orgasm from Rick and he rode out the last waves of it with her.

Spent, Michonne collapsed onto her stomach. Rick fell beside her and stared up at the sky. He felt like he was in a fairy tale.

He closed his eyes, listening to the satiated breathing of the woman beside him, and before he knew it he had fallen asleep.

 _~ In the madness and soil of that sad earthly scene_

 _Only then I am human_

 _Only then I am clean_

 _Amen. Amen. Amen. ~_

When Rick awoke, he woke with a jerk and immediately turned here and there, searching for the dark-skinned priestess. But of course she was gone.

Rick would have thought he had dreamed it all if it wasn't for the fact that he was lying completely naked on a bed of his clothing and he still had her scent all over him.

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Michonne kept walking until her home came into view. Only then did she look back.

She hadn't quite expected the amount of pleasure she had gotten from that experience but, all the same, she had achieved what she had gone to do.

She ran her hand over her stomach and she knew instinctively...she would be carrying the Sheriff's child soon.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: Work Song**

"Michonne."

"Not too tight," Michonne directed over her shoulder as her younger sister laced her up in a simple day dress. Her sister finished hurriedly at the sound of their mother's voice and Michonne went to the living room to find the older woman waiting for her.

"Yes ma'am."

Michonne's mother's eyes flitted over Michonne's dress and then back to her eyes. "You're going into town for flour and medicine. That's it."

Michonne nodded. "Of course."

"Yeah, mama, you don't have to tell Mich twice," one of her younger sisters said, coming up behind her. "She's not like Marsai who always finds some stable boy to flirt with."

A worn shoe came hurtling out of the bedroom to hit Sara, the younger sister, square in the bum. "Hey!" Sara yelled. "It's true!" She threw the shoe back into the bedroom, hitting her target judging by the thud and shriek that followed the action.

"Hey. Stop bothering your sick sister," the aged mother said, not even bothering to raise her voice. She didn't need to. The children would obey for she had raised them well.

"The only reason you're going," her mother continued, looking at Michonne once again. "Is _because_ your older sister is sick. And Sara and Mara are too afraid to go by themselves."

"Mara is afraid; I'm not," Sara interjected. She hushed when her mother gave her a stern look.

For twenty-four years old, the twins Sara and Mara always got into trouble by their mother for being too immature. Marsai found them to be a bother and always got into arguments with them so that left Michonne, the middle child, to be peacemaker among the family.

"I understand, mama," Michonne said. "I'll go there and come right back."

"I'm just worried," her mother said with a sigh. "I'm worried that maybe we acted too hastily. A vision was given to me that the baby that's now in your womb would save this family." She walked forward and placed the back of her hand lovingly against Michonne's abdomen, who covered the older woman's hand with her own. "But what if those 'visions' were just this old woman's foolhardy imaginings. The older I get the less I can be sure of the things that I see. Now I'm having the strangest dreams. Where that man...he turns into a snake and swallows you whole."

Michonne was surprised to hear about these new dreams but she didn't let it show on her face. "I wouldn't worry," she said. "Your visions have never been wrong. If you no longer trust in yourself, I always will." She gave her mother's hand another squeeze and then released it. "Don't worry. I'll come right back."

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It was another sweltering hot day and Rick Grimes was overseeing the building of a general store at the front of town with his deputy Shane Walsh. It was hot and it was hard work but Rick was thankful for it. It was a reprieve from his thoughts and his imaginings.

It had been two weeks since his encounter with the dark priestess Michonne in the forest and she had been on his mind constantly ever since. There were moments when he felt like it had all been a dream but then he remembered the way her nails felt clawing into his back and the moments when their eyes would meet and he knew that what he experienced had been real.

"You okay there, Rick?" Shane asked, bringing his thoughts back to the present. "The heat gettin' to you?"

Shane held a toothpick between his teeth and watched Rick with concern. "Your mama's been tellin' me how you've been takin' long walks in the woods these days. Not comin' home until nighttime. Said your girl, Jessie, has been feelin' neglected. That you're breakin' her heart."

A flush caressed Rick's cheeks as Shane relayed his mother's words to him. He knew he could never tell his mother, Shane, or especially Jessie where he walked to every evening.

Everyday he just found himself going back to that creek. Back to that patch of land where he had laid with an exquisite, forbidden creature. And he would lay there again. Sometimes until nightfall. Just thinking about the moments they had shared.

And maybe...hoping that she would appear again at the creek bed...

There was a part of him that feared he would never see her again. And a part of him that feared he would. He knew where she lived and he increasingly felt the need to go and visit but he also felt that he couldn't. Or he shouldn't.

"I don't know if marrying Jessie is the right thing anymore, Shane," he said.

"What?" Shane asked. "A beautiful girl like that? Why not?"

"I don't know. My heart's just not in it."

"A man's got more to tend to than his heart," Shane said with raised eyebrows. He chuckled when Rick sent him a stern look and then he got serious. "Oh come on, buddy. She's a nice girl. And she likes you a great deal. You were broken up after Lori's death. It's time you got back in the saddle."

The image of chocolate brown eyes and smooth, dark skin emerged in his mind's eye and his breath caught. He shook his head. 'What's the matter with me?' he wondered. "Yeah..." he said softly to Shane. "Maybe you're right..."

But Shane's attention had been drawn to something else. "Well, well, well. Look what the cat done dragged in. Just comin' into town haughty as anything."

Rick looked to where he was looking and his heart stopped then and there. There she was. Michonne. In a brown and red-laden day dress with her head held high. Her two twin sisters stuck close behind her, following in her wake, dressed in two simple blue day dresses of their own.

"Can't they go to the next town over to shop?" Shane asked, his voice sounding distant to Rick's ears. "This always causes a lotta unnecessary tension."

"The next town over is at least twenty miles further away than this one," Rick muttered, his eyes still trained on Michonne. Somehow she seemed even more beautiful than the last time he had seen her.

She turned and their eyes met.

 _~ Boys workin' on empty_

 _Is that the kinda way to face the burning heat?_

 _I just think about my baby_

 _I'm so full of love I could barely eat_

 _There's nothing sweeter than my baby_

 _I never want once from the cherry tree_

 _My baby's sweet as can be_

 _She give me toothaches just from kissin' me ~_

Rick couldn't stop the smile that began to form on his lips. He was happy to see her.

His burgeoning smile faded, though, when someone came and stood directly in Michonne's path – stopping her in her tracks. She looked up to see who was blocking the road and took a step to move around him. He took a step to block her. Rick placed his hand on the weapon at his hip and started to move, sensing that there was about to be trouble.

Shane caught him by the elbow, stopping him. "Are you crazy?! That's Phillip Blake! Probably one of the richest men in Georgia! We don't wanna get on his bad side. Whatever's going on over there is not our problem."

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"Please excuse us, sir," Michonne said, keeping her eyes at the level of the man's Adams apple.

"Why should I?" the man asked, his Southern twang strong. His voice held a cold, hard malice that could only be bred through generations of hate. "Ahh..." he chuckled and Michonne felt her muscles tense. "If I don't, you and your nigger kin here will do some kind of voodoo magic on me and make my tongue twist or my eyes bleed or something? Yeah, see, I've heard about you all." He stepped closer and Michonne felt his breath hitting her face. "You sold your soul to the devil just so you could walk free out here? Act like you're one of us? Well, you can sell your soul a million times over. It don't stop you from being what you are." He grabbed Michonne's cheeks in a painful grip and lifted her face to meet his eyes. "And that ain't nothin' but a nigger."

Michonne shook with restraint. She knew from a lifetime of this kind of treatment that the safest way to handle it was to do nothing. Especially not with an unborn child and her younger sisters to worry about. She tamped her anger down and looked down again, even while she felt like her jaw would break with Phillip's grip.

"Is there a problem?" Another hard voice interrupted from the side and Michonne didn't even have to look over to know who it was. His voice had become familiar to her during their day in the forest. "Why don't you let her go?"

Phillip peered over at Rick and chuckled. "Well, if it isn't Richard Grimes. Is this the way you run your town? You play Sheriff and let darkies roam free just because they claim to know a little hocus pocus? You and your family are an embarrassment."

"Let her go," Rick warned again, his hand on his weapon which was still in his holster.

"Or what?" Phillip asked, his eyes flashing maliciously. "You'll shoot me? Over some nigger wench?"

At this point, people in the town were beginning to gather around the altercation. "I don't wanna shoot anybody," Rick said. "You just keep passing through town like you were doing. We have an agreement. They don't cause us any trouble; we cause them none. It's the way things have been for a while now. I can't have you comin' in here and messin' things up. That's not the way I run things."

There was a tension-filled moment in which Phillip continued to hold Michonne but then he released her with a rough shove, causing her to stumble backwards.

He then faced Rick.

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"You should get your town under control Sheriff. Or I'll let my father know you're just letting slaves run free, then he'll come in and clean up the town himself." He spit a wad of saliva at Michonne's feet and then sauntered off, leaving Rick to stare a warning after him.

Once Phillip was gone, Rick focused in on Michonne and let his hand fall away from his gun. "You okay?" he asked.

Michonne's sisters regarded him warily while she stood up straight again and nodded.

Seeing that she was at least not physically harmed, Rick turned his attentions to the gathering townspeople and began to dismiss them. "Okay, folks," he called. "Nothing to see here. It's all been figured out; go on about your business." They began to disperse with light mutterings while Shane approached.

"What was that, man?" Shane asked. "That was risky."

"I was just doing my job," he replied. "Why don't you stay here and finish overseeing the construction? I'm gonna escort these girls through town and make sure nothing else happens."

Shane regarded his friend curiously but nodded. "Alright," he said. "I'll do that." He looked at the three women and then Rick. "You be careful."

"I'll escort you women through town," Rick said to the women once Shane headed back to his position at the site of the general store construction. "Make sure there's no more trouble."

"You don't have to," Michonne replied.

Rick looked her in the eye, remembering the last time she had said those words. And he gave her the same reply.

"I want to."

~ _When my time comes around_

 _Lay me gently in the cold dark earth_

 _No grave can hold my body down_

 _I'll crawl home to her ~_

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"So, what have you three come into town for?" Rick asked casually. "Or is that none of my business? I'm sorry."

"Flour," Michonne replied. "And medicine."

"Oh," Rick said with a worried expression. "Is someone sick?" He turned over his shoulder to see the twins glancing at each other and Michonne just staring at him as they followed him through town. "None of my business," he realized. "Sorry."

"Our older sister," Michonne supplied. "She's got a fever."

"Oh. Sorry to hear that. I hope she gets better." They got to the general store in town and Rick held the door open for them. Michonne and her sisters stopped short. She consciously glanced around at the staring townspeople that were walking by and then she quickly walked in. Rick stepped in after them. "If you need help reaching anything, let me know."

Michonne's sisters giggled and Rick knew he was being laughed at but he didn't know what for. "I'll be fine," Michonne replied. "Come on," she said to her sisters, tugging Sara along behind her reprimandingly.

Rick sighed and waited while the girls went about shopping. He looked up to see the storeowner, Merill Dixon – mother of Merle and Daryl Dixon – staring at the women in her shop with obvious scorn. "...Merill," he greeted her with a nod.

Her eyes slid to him and she gave him a tight smile that she obviously didn't feel. "Sheriff."

When Michonne and her sisters finished gathering what they needed and went to pay for their things, Rick went to the counter with them.

"That'll be sixty-five cents," Merrill said.

"The price sticker says the flour is ten cents and the medicine is twenty," Michonne said. "I owe you thirty cents."

Merrill's lips pinched together. "You tryin' to educate me on 'rithmetic, girl? I said it's sixty-five. The prices listed are for our normal customers."

Michonne sighed. "Thirty is all I have."

"Well, that's too bad isn't it?"

Rick felt his heart pounding in anger at the blatant disregard and disrespect. "Just give her the fair price, Merrill," he said.

Merrill met Rick's eyes, old and stubborn in her ways. "This is the fair price. For _them_!"

Rick moved the items on the counter to his side. "Here," he said. "I'm buying them. So what's the price?"

Merrill's lips pinched together once again and her skin flushed red with subdued anger. "...Thirty cents," she said.

Rick reached into his pocket, pulled out thirty cents, and put the coins on the counter.

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When they exited the store, Michonne took the small bag of items from him and put her thirty cents in his hand. "You don't have to-" he started.

"Yes, I do," Michonne said. "I don't want to owe you anything."

Rick looked down at the small coins in his palm and felt the urge to clear something up. "I'm not like them," he suddenly said, catching her eyes. He wanted her to understand how beautiful he thought she was. How important. How she had changed his life. But he couldn't find the words. He could only repeat, "I'm not like them".

"And what makes you so different?" Michonne asked, her voice steady and hard. "We've been living in this town since we were children. Until _you_ kicked us out. This isn't our first visit and this isn't the first time stuff like this has happened. But this is the only time you've done something about it. So I guess you feel like you deserve a pat on the back and you get to feel good about yourself. Well congratulations. Thank you. Truly."

"But maybe you should think about why you're doing this now. Is it because you're really not like them or is it because you want something from me?" Michonne shook her head. "I'm not foolish." She glanced around at all the townspeople who continued to slow down and stare as they passed. "Don't do this again. Your fake kindness will only be trouble for us in the long run."

She turned on her heel and left with her sisters following after her. She fought the urge to look back.

"What did you do to that man?" Sara teased, oblivious to the heavy atmosphere. "If you asked him to jump, he would've said 'how high'".

Michonne elbowed Sara in the ribs, telling her to shut up.

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That night, Rick visited the pub. Michonne's words were stuck in his mind.

For years, she had gone unnoticed by him. Every time he thought back, she was just on the periphery of some of his memories even though they had grown up in the same small town together. She had just been a part of the negro family that no one bothered because they were "witches" and "cursed". Even when he had kicked them out, he had first and foremost been worried about what was best for the town and not necessarily what was best for the family that had to leave.

Rick put back bottle after bottle.

It was true that he had never really "seen" her until that day.

He wasn't aware of when he left the pub. Or how he got to the forest. But he ended up stumbling there where he and Michonne had made love. And he was convinced that that was what it was. They had made love.

Rick finished off the bottle of whiskey in his hand, threw it aside, and laid on the very spot where it had happened. The wind brushed gently across his skin and he imagined that it was her.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

He felt Michonne's hand against his skin and he opened his eyes to see her stroking his face with a concerned expression. "I see you," he said in wonder. "I see you." He tried to hold her in his sights but the pull of sleep was just too great. His eyelids fluttered shut and then there was darkness.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

The next time his eyes began to flutter open, he heard whispers.

"You shouldn't have brought him here."

"I didn't know what else to do."

"I told you what I dreamed!"

"He was just laying out there in the middle of the field."

"He will be your ruin. I feel it."

"Shh!" another voice whispered. "I think he's waking up."

His eyes opened completely just as someone moved into his sight. His vision cleared to see Michonne standing over him with the same concerned expression he had seen before he passed out. "You're here," he whispered.

~ _That's when my baby found me_

 _I was three days on a drunken sin_

 _I woke with her walls around me_

 _Nothin' in her room but an empty crib_

 _And I was burnin' up a fever_

 _I didn't care much how long I lived_

 _But I swear I thought I dreamed her_

 _She never asked me once about the wrong I did ~_

Upon further inspection, Rick noticed that the room was small and simply furnished. And four other women stood in the room.

He sat up quickly.

The twins he recognized from town. Then he noticed the older sister wrapped in a blanket and their mother who was wearing a scowl.

He immediately felt lightheaded upon sitting up so quickly and he winced. "Where am I?" he asked, although he had a pretty good idea.

"I found you laying out in the field near the creek so I brought you home," Michonne explained.

"I'll fix you some hot porridge," the mother said, even though her scowl was still firmly in place.

"What were you doing out there?" Sara asked. "Seems pretty foolish to sleep out in a field. Even if you're drunk."

Michonne stared sternly at her sister. "Can you guys leave us alone for a minute?"

Sara scoffed but she agreed pretty easily. "Fine," she said. On her way out, she made kissy faces before closing the door quickly. Michonne heard her giggling on the other side of the door and shook her head.

Rick felt embarrassed when it was just the two of them. His clothes were unkempt, his hair was probably a mess, and he could feel that his eyes were bloodshot. "I'm sorry," he said again. His voice was raspy because he had a dry throat. "I'm sorry for my ignorance, my inaction, for...everything. I feel like...I've been asleep and I'm just waking up." Rick met her gaze, imploring her to understand him.

"Why were you in that field?" Michonne asked.

"...I miss you..." Rick answered.

"You don't even know me."

"I still miss you." Rick knew he was making no sense, but he didn't care. "Why were _you_ in that field?"

Michonne was quiet before answering. "...I miss you too."

Rick smiled. The pounding in his head went unnoticed. He reached out to take Michonne's hand. "I want to be with you," he said. And as the words left his mouth, he knew that they were true. Thirty-five years of life and he had never been more sure of anything.

Michonne took her hand away. "That's impossible."

"Why?"

"You know why." Michonne took a step back. "Besides...we're leaving."

Rick felt his heart drop. "Leaving?" he asked. "Where?"

Michonne shook her head. "I'm not going to tell you that. But once Marsai gets better, we're going to leave this place. You should know."

Rick had an immediate adverse reaction to Michonne's revelation. "Well...take me with you," he said suddenly. Michonne's brows drew downward in shock. "Yeah!" Rick said, inspired. He stood up from the bed and approached Michonne. "Let's all leave together." He put his hands on her waist. "There's nothing to keep me in that town anymore."

Michonne's brow cleared and she placed her hands on Rick's chest, gently pushing him back to the bed. He laid down agreeably and Michonne stroked his face with her hands. "You need to get some more rest," she said. "Go back to sleep. You have your friends, your mom, your job, your fiancee. Responsibility. You'll remember all of that when you wake up in the morning. So go back to sleep."

"When I wake up in the morning, nothing will have changed," Rick said. He ran his finger along her jawline.

"We'll see..." Michonne said. "But thank you for saying that, whatever happens."

She leaned down and pressed her lips against his. Their kiss was gentle and sweet.

~ _My baby never fret none_

 _About what my hands and my body done_

 _If the Lord don't forgive me_

 _I'd still have my baby and my babe would have me_

 _When I was kissing on my baby_

 _And she put her love down soft and sweet_

 _In the lowland plot I was free_

 _Heaven and hell were words to me ~_

Michonne climbed onto the bed with him and laced her fingers with his. And the two fell asleep just like that, wrapped in each other's arms. What tomorrow would bring they didn't know. But tonight there was this.

Michonne's mother opened the door to with a tray of porridge in hand and sighed when she saw the sight before her. She shook her head, placed the tray on the table by the bed, and then left the room quietly. That night she would pray for the heavens to look favorably upon the two foolish lovers.

~ _When my time comes around_

 _Lay me gently in the cold dark earth_

 _No grave can hold my body down_

 _I'll crawl home to her ~_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three: It Will Come Back**

 _~You know better babe; you know better babe_

 _Than to look at it, look at it like that_

 _You know better babe; you know better babe_

 _Than to talk to it, talk to it like that~_

Rick woke up to find a goddess sleeping by his side.

He admired the peace in Michonne's face as she slept. The arch of her brow, the fullness of her lips, the definition of her collarbone – it was all perfect. Rick pinched the sheet that covered her body between his fingers and inched it down, past her clothed, pert breasts.

He took in a heavy breath.

He didn't completely understand his pull to the beautiful woman beside him, but waking up next to her, he knew that this was where he wanted to be. He hadn't felt this whole since his wife had been alive.

Michonne's chest rose and fell with deep, slow breaths.

He settled in, ready to watch her for an eternity more, but she surprised him by speaking. "What are you waiting for?"

Rick raised his head from the pillow. "Hmm?"

Michonne opened her eyes. It seemed she had been awake maybe even before Rick. She turned onto her side to face him. Rick smiled when her eyes met his. The usual headache he would feel after the drinking binge he had gone on last night was nonexistent. He attributed that to the woman in front of him. Nothing felt wrong, or hard, or painful when he was with her.

She took his hand and guided it to her breast. "I'll let you have me one more time," she said. "Get it out of your system. Then you can go back to your home and your life...never looking back."

 _~Don't give it a hand, offer it a soul_

 _Honey, make this easy_

 _Leave it to the land, this is what it knows_

 _Honey, that's how it sleeps~_

Rick's brow furrowed. "I told you I'm not leaving."

Michonne's brow furrowed in response, a bit of anger flashed across her features. "Look," she said. "I get it. We had a good time. You like the fantasy, you like the chase. But that's just what this is. A fantasy. This can't work. I leave, and you stay. That's the only way this goes."

Rick shook his head. "No. No, it's not. We can make this work."

"How?"

"As long as we're together-"

Michonne sighed. A long, suffering sigh. Rick stopped talking. He could see in her eyes that she didn't believe things were that simple.

Movement and bustling sounded outside the bedroom door and Michonne knew that her mother and the rest of the house was getting up and preparing breakfast.

She hoisted herself over Rick's torso, her breasts brushing his chest. Rick's breath caught in his throat and his hand automatically went to her back. His fingers splayed across it and he marveled at how his hand almost took up the entire width of her. With his other hand, he brushed her falling dreads over her shoulder and away from her face. "Come outside with me," Michonne said. "We have to honor my mother's house."

His response automatic, Rick nodded once. He was hers to control.

 _~ Don't let it in with no intention to keep it_

 _Jesus Christ! Don't be kind to it._

 _Honey don't feed it – it will come back. ~_

Michonne stepped out into the kitchen with Rick following behind her. His hair was still disheveled and his eyes were somewhat bloodshot. He looked every bit like he had binged on alcohol the night before. He carried his overshirt in his hand while his undershirt hung loosely on his body and his pants hung, wrinkled, on his hips.

He stood in the doorway of the kitchen, feeling just as out of place as he looked. Michonne's sisters and mother stopped what they were doing to look at them. Marsai was still sick and had wrapped herself in a blanket while she sat at the kitchen table, but she pretended to be busy after a few seconds of awkward silence. The other sisters followed her lead.

Rick met Michonne's mother's stern glare as she stoked the flames in the fireplace. He bowed his head slightly. "Ma'am..."

Rick didn't receive a greeting in return.

"Rick," Michonne said, turning to him. "Can you go outside and wait for me?"

Rick was embarrassed to be in front of his lover's mother in such a sorry state so he did what she asked without question. He nodded his head toward Michonne's mother once more and then went to the front door and stepped outside.

When the door closed behind him, Michonne's mother spoke. "You sendin' him away?"

Michonne nodded. "Yeah. I am."

The sisters pretended as if they weren't listening. Michonne's mother nodded. "Good," she said. "Make sure he eats somethin' before he goes."

Michonne's eyes traveled to the basket of apples on the table and she grabbed one as she headed for the door.

"Michonne?" Michonne's mother called, stopping her. Michonne turned to look back at her. "Best if you make it short and sweet," her mother said. "Eve's biggest sin wasn't partaking of the fruit; her biggest sin was that she liked it."

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Farther along the bank of the river where they had first met, Michonne laid atop Rick and tongued his neck. The sun was directly above them and was visible through Rick's half-lidded lashes. With her kisses, soft and wet against his neck, he felt drugged and unwanting of sobriety.

"We can move up North. Find a place big enough for your family. And us."

Michonne licked at the delicate skin on Rick's neck. She felt his heart beat there. "And we'll just magically run across this place?" Michonne asked. She brought her kisses to his cheek, soft and slow. She didn't mind the stubble there. It tickled her lips.

"I have a brother," Rick said. He laid his palm against Michonne's hip. She had moved her attentions to his ear, teasing him with her tongue by licking gently around it. He didn't know that could spark such arousal in him until now. "He moved up North to manage a railroad station. He'll put us up until we can find a place of our own."

He gripped her hip in his hand; Michonne reacted by pushing herself against the hardness she felt pushing against Rick's trousers. She closed her eyes, again enjoying this more than she expected or wanted to – just like she had the first time. "You just have it all figured out, don't you," she whispered in his ear.

Rick cupped Michonne's face in his hands and made her stop kissing him so that she could look at him. "We can make this work," he said.

The sincerity and plea in his voice gave Michonne pause. But her pragmatic side won out. She didn't believe a word he was saying. She couldn't. This was a goodbye. She was sending him off like she told her mother she would. There was nothing "short and sweet" about it, but she wanted this one last time with him. If that was a sin, she was ready to pay for it at the Pearly Gates.

 _~You know better babe, you know better babe,_

 _Than to smile at me, smile at me like that_

 _You know better babe, you know better babe!_

 _Than to hold me just, hold me just like that~_

"Stop talking," she whispered. Her lips brushed over his before she captured his mouth in a deep kiss, consuming all of his words and promises.

She pushed her tongue into his mouth and Rick welcomed it wholeheartedly. Words were not only gone from his lips but from his brain as well. He wrapped his arms around her waist and held her tight against him as he moaned into her kiss, letting her know just how much he loved the taste of her.

A snake of passion and lust coiled in Rick's stomach when he felt Michonne's hand slide down to his trousers. He gasped when he felt her unbuckle him and then reach deep inside to grasp his shaft. Her hand was hot against his flesh. His loins tightened and he hardened further still.

Michonne lifted herself to look into Rick's face as she worked his pants and undergarments down over his hips just enough to fully release his manhood.

She then slid her hand underneath the skirt of her simple dress to pull her underwear to the side.

Rick breathed heavily. Anticipation to copulate again with the woman who had constantly been on his mind since their first time together filled his chest. He only wished she believed in what they could have as much as he did. He knew he hadn't convinced her to run away, together, with him.

She maneuvered her hips over his hard member. Rick grasped her dress-covered thighs as he felt his tip touch her hot, wet center. She slowly began to engulf him inch by inch. Rick's fingers curled into her dress, clutching the fabric, because the sensation of entering inside of her felt so good. She pushed herself all the way to the hilt and they both released sighs of pleasure. Rick fought to hold himself still as Michonne began to roll her hips. His eyes almost fell closed, but he kept them open with the strength of his will. He wanted to watch all of the ways her face changed as she rode him; he wanted to commit to memory the way that the sun streamed through the branches of the trees above them and the dreads of her hair. Everything seemed heightened as she moved atop him. The grass seemed greened, the breeze seemed cooler, and his pleasure seemed insurmountable.

Michonne grabbed Rick's face in her hand. The way he stared at her should be criminal. It heated her from the inside out and in more than just a lustful way. Michonne began to grind faster onto him, trying to speed up the process of reaching climax. As she rode him, she realized her mother was right. A quicker goodbye would have been better. What she was doing now was dangerous. The thought of wanting to be filled with him forever was too enticing. Michonne bucked furiously against him. She grabbed his hand from her thigh and placed it over her breast.

Rick's mouth fell open and he elicited heavy, lusty breaths as Michonne's gyrating from above unsettled the very Earth beneath them. He pushed his hand into the top of her dress to pull her breast free. He then turned his attention to her other breast, wanting to see as much of her as he could. He pulled the fabric of her dress down, baring her shoulder, and exposed her other breast to his sight. In his haste, there was a slight ripping sound that accompanied the action. "Don't rip my dress," Michonne said, still riding him. Her breasts were now bouncing freely. She was thinking about how she had to pass in front of her mother and sisters again when she went back inside and she didn't want her dalliance to be on full display by way of a barely hanging on dress.

If he heard her, Michonne didn't know. Rick wrapped his arm around her waist and lifted himself to capture her breasts in his mouth – first one and then the other. A small groan, reminiscent of a growl, left his throat.

He was growing hotter.

He pushed the skirt of Michonne's dress up and pushed his hand underneath it. He slid his fingers along her bare thigh until he reached her most sensitive area. He pressed his thumb against her bud as his member slid in and out of her. Michonne gasped and threw her head back. Rick took that moment to move his lips from her breasts to her slender neck. "I'm going to make you my wife," he whispered against her skin.

Michonne slowed her pace but she rolled her hips harder against him, causing him to sink further inside her walls. She had never dreamed of being anyone's wife. And she couldn't start now. She had to end this. "No, you won't." An involuntary whimper left her throat as Rick feathered the pad of his thumb quickly against her bud of nerves, as if in protest to her last statement.

Before she knew it, he flipped her over onto her back. His eyes were electricity. "Is that a challenge?" His hand moved from beneath her skirt, which had now fallen to her waist, and lifted her hips so that he could bury himself more fully within her walls. Michonne groaned and gripped his shoulders in her hands.

The blades of grass gently pricked Michonne's exposed skin as Rick began to pump in and out of her. He laid against her and swiveled his hips so that his pelvis brushed against the spot that caused her the most pleasure on each stroke.

Rick reveled in how amazing and right it felt to be buried within her heat. He propped himself up onto his elbow and began to grind into her harder and faster. He wanted it to feel as right for her as it did for him. His lips found the skin of her neck again and he tongued and bit her, bringing her closer to the edge along with him. "You're mine," he whispered against her skin. "And I'm yours."

 _~ I know who I am when I'm alone_

 _I'm something else when I see you_

 _You don't understand, you should never know_

 _How easy you are to need ~_

Michonne moaned and lifted her hips with each of Rick's thrusts, matching his hastened pace.

Rick lifted himself to look into her face as they came closer and closer to climax, but Michonne turned her face away. Her eyes fell on the red apple lying in the grass, long forgotten in the heat of their coming together.

Michonne felt herself coming undone from Rick's continued intercourse. Her lids grew hooded and she began to moan loudly.

Rick grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him again. He wanted to see exactly what he was doing to her. Exactly how he was making her feel. The pleasure on Michonne's face and the feeling of being ensconced in her walls brought Rick over the brink. He rode Michonne faster and when he felt her walls clenching around him and her back arch up off of the ground, he felt himself release.

His hot seed spread within Michonne and she shuddered with more pleasure.

Some of Rick's seed spilled out and fell into the Earth below, mixing with Michonne's own.

Rick slowly collapsed onto her and lazily peppered more soft kisses against her neck. "This is where I belong," Rick said, still nestled inside of her. "This is right."

Michonne sighed and closed her eyes. She placed her own kisses against Rick's cheek. He turned to meet her lips and they shared a deep kiss under the sun before Rick pulled away, gave her one last gentle look, and then rolled to the side. He laid on his back and put himself away while Michonne did the same. She sat up and straightened her gown. Then she took the apple into her hand and took a bite. It was sweet on her tongue. She handed it to Rick, who also took a bite.

"You ruined my dress," Michonne finally said after a few moments of silence. She kept trying to pull her sleeve up over her shoulder but it would continuously fall back down. She finally sighed and gave up.

"I'm sorry," Rick said, turning over onto his side to look at her. "I didn't mean to." He pushed himself to a sitting position and began to brush grass out of her hair. She let him, wanting to have at least a little respect when she walked into her mother's house again.

Rick smiled gently at her as he helped her to clean up. "You're the only other woman I've been with besides my wife. And it was never like this."

Michonne glanced over at Rick. She didn't know why he was telling her this, but it caused her to feel slightly somber. She was more convinced than ever now that his lack of experience was the reason he was romanticizing this. She was an exotic sexual experience for him, nothing more. "You've never slept with your fiance?" she asked.

"No," Rick said. "We don't really have a connection. Plus, it's not really the gentlemanly thing to do."

"And I'm not a lady so no need to be a gentleman, right?"

Rick gently picked the last visible blade of grass from Michonne's hair. "You handled Mrs. Dixon's prejudice with more grace than I would've ever been able to muster in your situation, you took in a drunken fool and nursed him back to health, and then you brought us out here to make love in the grass because you didn't want to disrespect your mother's house.." They laughed together. "You're every bit a lady and I think you know that." He pulled Michonne's dress down over her shoulder and kissed her bared skin. He released the apple in his hand and let it roll into the river, more wanting of Michonne's taste than that of the fruit.

"I do," Michonne said, playfully pushing Rick away and bringing her dress back up over her shoulder, "I was just making sure you knew it." She watched, amused, as Rick began to laugh again.

She could easily imagine them spending every day like this. She shook her head.

Rick's laughter died and he enjoyed the sunshine for a bit more before he spoke again. "You're still going to ask me to leave, aren't you."

"It's not going to work," Michonne said. "It can't. This isn't a fairy tale."

Rick was quiet for a moment. "...Okay," he finally said. "I'll leave." Michonne was taken aback at how quickly he agreed. She had been expecting him to put up a bit more of a fight.

"But I'm going to come back," he finished. "And if you tell me to leave again, I'll _come back_ again." He invaded Michonne's space and wrapped his arms around her. "I'll come back again. And again. And again." He placed kisses on her cheek between each declaration. Michonne drew away from him and looked at him like he had two heads. It didn't bother him. He smiled. "So you might as well get used to me being here."

He placed another kiss on her lips and then stood up. "I'm going to travel back into town and say goodbye to my mother." He picked up his overshirt and brushed it off. "Wait for me. Okay?"

Michonne shook her head at Rick, who was smiling down at her. "You're crazy," she said.

"Even so, you'll still wait for me, right?"

Michonne stood up as well, the left shoulder of her top still falling sloppily downward due to Rick's earlier handling. "I'm not making any promises."

Rick frowned. "And I thought courting Lori had been difficult," he mumbled. "Her father couldn't stand me," he said by way of further explanation. "Well, at least promise me you won't be in a rush to leave."

He waited until Michonne gave him a nod before he was satisfied.

On a sudden thought, he took a pocket watch from his pants pocket and handed it to Michonne. "Here...take this. So you can think of me every hour."

Michonne rolled her eyes and handed it back to Rick. "I'm not taking this; it looks expensive."

"Tch," Rick said. "You're really stubborn." He took the watch back. "Fine." He unhooked the chain from the watch and grabbed Michonne's left hand. Michonne resisted initially, but once she realized what he was doing, she stilled. He wrapped the chain around her ring finger and hooked it there. "There," he said. "You're mine, and I'm yours." He kissed her one last time; Michonne closed her eyes, savoring the moment. "I'll be back," Rick said when he pulled away. He moved around her and started on his way back. "I promise. I'll be back."

Michonne watched him go, reluctant to believe his promise, but begrudgingly hopeful of it anyway.

 _~Don't let me in with no intention to keep me_

 _Jesus Christ! Don't be kind to me._

 _Honey don't feed me – I will come back~_

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Rick stood on the edge of his town when he made it back and just observed. Everything looked dimmer. He felt smaller.

He was more certain than ever that this was the right thing to do.

He hurried home and walked through his door. His mother and Jessie were there looking through magazines. They looked up when they heard him come in. The smiles disappeared from their face, though, when he appeared in the doorway and they could see him fully.

"Good lord! What's happened?" Rick's mother asked, getting up from her seat.

Rick was confused at the horrified faces for a moment before he looked down and realized what he must look like. Not only were his eyes bloodshot from the drunken bender of the night before, but his clothes and hair were now also a mess from rolling around in the grass and dirt with Michonne. He quickly shook his head. "Nothing," he said. "I just...had a little too much to drink last night."

"Is that why you didn't come home?!" his mother continued questioning him. "Where did you sleep?"

"I uhh...It doesn't matter. Look, mom, I came to tell you something. Jessie, I'm glad you're here; you stay for this as well." Rick led his mother back to where she had been sitting and then he sat on the sofa adjacent to her – Jessie sat across from him. "I'm uhh...I'm going to go up North and stay with my brother for a while," he said directly.

His mother was startled by this news. "What? Why?" she asked. "How long will you be gone?"

"I'm thinking about moving there," Rick explained. "Finding a place of my own and then staying..."

"But..." His mother seemed to not know what to say or where to start.

"...What about me?" Jessie asked. "I can't just pack up and move up North."

Rick sighed, feeling slightly guilty. "I'm not asking you to," he said. "I think...I think we should end our engagement."

The blood drained from Jessie's face. "Why?" she asked.

"Why the sudden change of heart?" his mother asked at the same time.

"It's not that sudden," Rick explained. "I've been feeling out-of-place here for a while."

"Well, you're just mourning, dear," his mother said. "You're still getting over Lori's death. If you need a little more time before the marriage, that's fine. But to call it off-"

"It's not that," Rick said. "I'm not still mourning." He looked at Jessie. "We're not meant to be. And you know it. I don't love you." He tried to let her down as gently as possible with the facts.

"Love?" his mother asked. "Since when did you become a romantic?" Her expression changed as realization dawned on her. "...Is that what this is about?" she whispered. " _Love_? Have you found another woman, Richard?" She looked over the state of his dress again. "Is that where you were last night?"

Jessie's lips pinched together.

Rick didn't say anything. He didn't quite know what to say.

"Of course," his mother continued. "I should've read the signs; men are so easy. Well...who is she? Can't be anyone decent since you're trying to run away with her and not introducing her in the proper way."

"I'm not going to talk about this," Rick said, standing up. He was conscious of the time. "I just came to say goodbye and grab a few things. I'll write you when I reach Virginia." He started off towards the stairs.

Rick's mother stood up indignantly. She was at a loss for what to say. "This can't happen," she said when it was just Jessie and her alone in the room. "You need to do something," she said to the other woman. "Hold onto him. I can't have my son running around with some...whore. He stands for something in this community. Our good name can't be tainted!"

"What am I supposed to do?" Jessie asked. She looked somewhat panicked.

"Give him something he wants," Rick's mother decided. "A son."

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Michonne, changed into unsullied clothing now, stopped by the front window for maybe the hundredth time and peered out. The sun was beginning to set now. She knew they were planning to head out at dark.

She sighed and turned back from the window. Her bag sat on the table in the middle of the room. Everyone had just packed one makeshift knapsack full of things they wanted or needed to take with them.

Her eyes belatedly landed on her mother who stood in the doorway watching her. Her mother's eyes flickered down to the chain around her daughter's finger. She shook her head and tsked. "You can lie down and get some rest," she said. "We won't be leaving tonight."

Michonne tried to hide the spark of happiness she felt at that news. "Why not?" she asked.

"Your sister started vomiting again. She won't be able to make it far in that condition. Now stop standing at that window and go bring her some soup."

"Yes, Mama."

She hurried off and collected a bowl of soup. She found her sister huddled in a blanket and shivering when she brought her the soup. "You look _terrible_ ," she said, concern steeping her voice. She rushed to her sister's side and brought the bowl of soup to her lips. As her sister drank, she felt her forehead. She was burning up. "Is the medicine not working?"

"It seemed to be working this morning," Marsai said, her voice raspy. She coughed and took another drink of her soup. Michonne felt her forehead again; Marsai stopped her by taking her hand. She had noticed the silver around Michonne's finger. "Did he give you this?"

Michonne took her hand back. "Yeah," she said. "It's silly. He thinks by talking all dandy and giving me silly things like this that he can make me believe he's serious about me or something."

"Girl, I think he _is_ serious about you."

"Why?" Michonne asked, almost eagerly.

"'Cause I've seen the way he looks at you." Marsai cleared her throat to try to make her voice clearer. "And the twins told me about the way he acted when they went to town with you." She smiled. "They said he was practically falling over himself trying to please you."

Michonne hid a smile. Another second and she sobered herself up though. "Yeah, well, I'm not serious about him. There's no use. It could never work."

"Nothing is impossible," Marsai said, taking another drink of the soup. She closed her eyes, as the liquid hurt her sore throat on the way down. "Watching mama has taught me that. Sometimes it seems like that woman can work miracles. And you know I think she's mostly full of shit."

Marsai and Michonne shared a laugh. Marsai has always been the only one of them to be critical of their mother's beliefs and her way of life. Michonne didn't know if she believed all of the spiritual mumbo-jumbo her mother spouted all the time either, but she didn't mind it at all. The fact that their family was now known for their voodoo is one of the things that kept them safe many times before.

"I was against Mama sending you to him in the first place, you know," Marsai said. She reached out and touched Michonne's stomach. "But who knows? Maybe this little guy really is special."

Michonne placed her hand over Marsai's. "I _know_ he's special."

"You know Mama's not just staying another night for me, right?" Michonne looked curiously over at her sister. "She knows you're waiting for him."

"I'm not waiting for him."

"Sure," Marsai smiled. "Keep telling yourself that."

"I'm not. It could never work."

"Keep telling yourself that too." Marsai finished off her soup and then handed the bowl back to Michonne. "Here. Now leave me alone. I'm going to go back to sleep." She turned over onto her side, putting her back to Michonne, and snuggled under her blanket.

Michonne sighed, wanting to continue to argue, but she stood up from the bed – leaving her sick sister to recover.

When she reached the kitchen, she put the bowl in a bucket of already soaking dishes. As she drew her hand back, her eyes fell on the silver chain around her finger. She started to unhook it, but then stopped. 'I don't want to lose it,' she thought. 'If he does come back, he'll need it for his watch.'

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\- I had to include the sharing of an apple. Callback to canon. :) -


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Angel of Small Death and the Codeine Scene**

 _~ I watch the work of my kin bold and boyful_

 _Toying somewhere between love and abuse_

 _Calling to join them the wretched and joyful_

 _Shaking the wings of their terrible youths ~_

It didn't take long for Rick to wash up. He put on traveling clothes and packed one bag and some money; he realized there wasn't much he needed. He picked up the bag to go and stopped short when he saw Jessie standing in the room. He was surprised to see her; he hadn't heard her when she came in.

"Jessie?" he said, finding it strange that she was in his room.

Jessie's eyes went from Rick's face to the bag in his hand. "You're leaving tonight?" she asked, shock coloring her voice.

"Uhh..." Rick looked down at the bag in his hand as well. "Yeah," he said. "I figure there's not much reason to linger."

Jessie's face was full of reluctance and concern. "Rick, what is this about, really?" she asked. "You're going to leave just like that? Not saying goodbye to your friends and the other people who care about you?"

Rick thought of his best friend and partner, Shane, but he didn't have time to consider dropping by to see him now. He was wondering if Michonne was already getting ready to leave. "I'll write them a letter," he said.

He started to walk toward the door but Jessie blocked his path.

"Jessie," Rick admonished, unable to put up with this at the moment. "I'm sorry I just sprung this on you, but this is something I have to do. You'll do just fine without me."

"I won't," Jessie said. Her expression turned from one of fear to one of determination. She lifted her chin and then she slowly began to untie the front laces of her dress.

"Jessie, don't do this-"

"I have waited for you for a long time, Rick Grimes. I've been in love with you for longer than you know. I loved you since I first laid eyes on you." Rick squinted. This was news to him. He had barely even spoken to Jessie Anderson until they were betrothed. And not even then.

"I'm sorry," Rick said, gently pushing past her. "I have to go."

"No." Jessie grabbed onto Rick and tried to hold on as he went to the door, but he shook her off. He was only thinking of one thing. "Rick!"

Rick turned at her desperate cry to see that Jessie was at his desk with a letter opener to her throat. Rick's eyes widened. He had never known Jessie to show anything but a delicate smile. The desperation she was showing for things to escalate to this level was coming as a complete shock to him. "Jessie, what are you doing?" he asked, genuinely confused and appalled.

"I can't let you do this," Jessie said. Her hand trembled. "I got blood on my hands once before for you. I can do it again."

Rick had no idea what she was talking about, but his mind jumped to the thought that Jessie maybe had some psychological problems that he wasn't equipped to deal with. He held his hand out. "Jessie..." he said. "Just calm down. Where is my mother."

"She went out to get some air," Jessie said. She shook her head. "Neither of us understands why you're doing this. If you're in love with someone else, please...just tell me who. What does she have that I don't have?"

"It's not you," Rick said, emphatically trying to calm the situation. "Sometimes things just aren't meant to be."

"We're meant to be," Jessie stated. "I know it. Stay, and you'll know it too."

Rick shook his head. "Please," he said. "Don't do something you'll regret."

"Will you stay with me?" Jessie asked, ignoring Rick's pleas.

Rick shook his head again, helpless. "...I can't."

Complete despair overtook Jessie's face for a moment, then resolve, then anger. "Well, if you won't stay with me then what's the point?" Her hand steadied. Rick knew what was going to happen a second before Jessie jabbed the letter opener into her pale throat and pulled it out.

Blood sprayed Rick's desk and he stood in shock for a moment before he acted. He felt like things were going in slow motion when he moved to catch Jessie before she hit the ground. Her eyes were still open and she was gasping for breath, consciousness not gone for her. He placed his hand over her puncture wound and tried not to panic. "Mom!"

 _~ Freshly disowned in some frozen devotion_

 _No more alone or myself could I be_

 _Looks like a strain to the arms it were open_

 _No shortage of sordid, no protest from me ~_

In the next moment, when Rick realized that Jessie had told him his mother had gone for a walk, he hurried to pick her up and rushed her to the doctor's house that was only a few houses down from his. When he appeared on the doorstep and knocked, the doctor opened the door in casualwear and with a grin. He obviously wasn't expecting a bloody belle and horrified gentleman to show up on his doorstep that night. His smile fell as he took in the scene.

"Bring her upstairs to my bedroom," the doctor said immediately, not even needing Rick to say anything.

The doctor's wife and daughters left their surprise behind and rushed to prepare things to aide the head of their house.

After leaving Jessie in the care of the doctor and giving him a rundown about what had happened, he stepped outside to clear his head. He fished in his pocket to pull out his strapless pocket watch and checked the time. 9:15 PM. He closed his eyes. 'Please wait for me,' he thought, hoping his thoughts could reach across the town line.

He looked up and was surprised to see people standing in their doorways. But it shouldn't have been a surprise. He knew how this town operated. He had lived there for most of his life.

It wasn't long before Shane approached him. "Hey, man, what's going on?" his friend greeted. "Your mama found me and told me I needed to talk to you. Then I hear from nosy Missus Niedermeyer that you were running through town with a sick Jessie?"

Rick sighed, still shaken up. "She's more than sick," he said. "She stabbed herself – letter opener in the neck." The image came into his mind again as he spoke of it. It wouldn't be leaving him anytime soon.

Flabbergasted, Shane put his hands on his hips. "Why'd she do that?"

Rick shrugged, still not quite sure what had happened. "Told her I was leavin'. She didn't handle it well."

"You're leavin'?" Shane asked. "Where?"

"Goin' up North to stay with my brother."

"Why?" Shane asked. "I mean- I mean just like that? You got a job here-"

"Hey, Rick?" Rick turned toward Doc Hershel's voice when the door opened. He acknowledged Shane and continued talking to Rick. "I managed to slow the bleeding, and it looks like she just missed her major artery, but to be honest, I don't know how much I can do. It's hard for me to determine the damage she inflicted. I've got Maggie in there now, watching her to make sure she doesn't start choking on her blood. The fact that you got her here without that happenin' is a miracle..."

Rick waited and listened. "...So what do you suggest we do?" he asked.

Hershel sighed. "Wait," he responded simply.

Rick sighed as well. He looked at his pocket watch again. He didn't have the luxury of waiting. "There's nothing else we can do?" Shane pressed. "There's gotta be somethin'."

"Unless you know of some medical advancements that I haven't been made aware of yet, Mr. Walsh, then I'd say there's nothing."

"Where is she?" Rick's mother appeared in a flurry of dramatics. A handkerchief was in her hand to catch tears that hadn't fell yet and her bosom heaved as if she were about to faint. "What happened to our poor Jessie?"

Hershel gave her the same spiel he had given to Rick. Mrs. Grimes was left bereft at the end of it. "And there's nothing we can do?" she asked, her voice weepy.

"Not to my knowledge," Hershel said, shaking his head sadly.

"What about those negras?" Rick's mother asked, the thought coming to her suddenly. Rick snapped to attention. "They call themselves trying to heal people with that little magic they do, don't they?"

"Now, all due respect, ma'am," Herschel said. "But that's all just a bunch of nonsense and anybody who buys into it is foolish."

Mrs. Grimes stood straighter, offended. "Well, it's worth tryin'," she said. "You've obviously exhausted _your_ usefulness to us."

"Mom."

Any offense Hershel felt was swept aside. "You all figure out what you're gonna do," he said. "I'm gonna go check on her and keep doin' the best I can."

When he left, Rick's mom turned to him. "Go send for those women," she said. "You have to take some responsibility for what's happened and we have to try everything we can."

Rick thought of Michonne and her family. It wasn't fair to pull them back into the drama of the town when they had been kicked out and when they were ready to move on and leave it all behind them. "I don't think that's a good idea," he said.

"Yeah, I don't either." Rick was relieved to hear Shane agreeing with him. "Hershel's right. All of that voodoo mumbo jumbo is just a bunch of nonsense."

"It's worth a shot!" Mrs. Grimes rebuffed, her voice risen. "Am I the only one who cares what happens to Jessie?! How can you two be so heartless?" Mrs. Grimes looked between the two of them before descending into sobs.

Shane shifted uncomfortably. Rick pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers. He knew she could keep this up forever.

Finally, Shane gave in. "Look," he said to Rick. "Just go get them. They can come and do their chantin' or whatever they do, then they can leave."

"I can't bring them," Rick said.

"Why not?"

Rick took Shane over to the side for some privacy. "They're plannin' on leavin' tonight," Rick said. "They may already be gone."

"How do you know this?" Shane asked curiously.

"If I said 'I just know', would you trust me?"

Shane stared at Rick suspiciously. "Well, I still don't see how that's a problem," he finally said. "If they're gone, they're gone but if they're there, you can bring them and then they can leave in the morning."

"Anytime they come into town, it's dangerous," Rick said. "They won't wanna risk it."

Shane sighed. "Fine," he said. "Then how do you suggest we calm your mama down-? Where'd she go?"

Rick looked around to find that his mom had, indeed, disappeared. She was no longer standing where they had left her. He went to the window and looked out to see her walking toward the police station and he knew immediately that she was just sending someone else on the job to go retrieve the women. Rick cursed.

He rushed out of the house and caught up to her. "Mom, what are you doing?"

"Sending someone else to go get those women since you don't want to do it."

"Fine!" he said, stopping her in her tracks. "I'll do it." He knew someone else may not 'ask' them to come back so much as haul them forcefully back, whether they wanted to come or not.

He turned and started heading for the stables for a horse with Shane close on his heels. "If nothing else, I can just lie and say they're not there," Rick said under his breath to his friend.

Shane again looked at Rick in confusion. "Seems like you're goin' through an awful lot of trouble to keep those women outta this. What's goin' on, Rick?"

"Nothing," Rick said. "Can you just wait here and make sure my mother doesn't create anymore trouble?"

Shane nodded, still looking confused. "Sure."

Satisfied, Rick reached the stables, got a horse and headed out on his way back to Michonne. He felt a small spark of excitement just at the thought of seeing her again. That was, if she was still there.

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Michonne laid awake in bed for more than one reason. For one, she was sharing a room with the twins and both of them talked in their sleep. She usually shared a room with Marsai, but she didn't want to risk catching whatever her sister had. And the second reason was because she couldn't stop thinking of Rick.

He was only the second man she had been physically intimate with. Her first lover, Mike, had been a free man from up North. He had come to the South to try to legally start up a school that taught reading and writing to African Americans, but it had been a failed endeavor. He hadn't been able to acclimate to life in the South so he had packed up and moved back to the North almost as quickly as he had come. He had tried to get Michonne to come with him, but her family hadn't planned on moving at that time. And she wasn't leaving her family.

When Michonne's mother had told them about the vision she'd had of a grandchild of their bloodline being a Savior of their family and how they were supposed to get said grandchild, like Marsai, Michonne had questioned her mother's interpretation of her dream. But, unlike Marsai, she believed in – if not her mother's supernaturality – her mother's spiritual belief. And she believed in her mother. She knew that her mother would never recklessly put them in danger. So with that faith in her mother, she had agreed to be the bearer of the child.

Even if Marsai _would_ do it, she couldn't have children. And Michonne considered herself protector of the twins. She wanted to keep them her innocent little sisters for as long as possible.

She hadn't expected, when she agreed though, that she'd be so consumed by one act. She had done more than have sex with him in those woods. They had shared something.

Michonne shook her head against her pillow, trying to get rid of those thoughts. 'You're letting his silly notions get to you,' she thought.

She rubbed her thumb against the chain around her finger and then sat up in bed. She stood up in her white nightgown, cinched in at the waist, and went to the kitchen for a glass of water. Her mother was already sitting at the kitchen table, staring into space.

"What are you doing up?" Michonne asked.

Michonne's mother blinked as if coming out of deep thought and looked at Michonne. "I could ask you the same question."

"Couldn't sleep," Michonne said.

She went to the cabinet, took a glass down, and then poured water from the pitcher sitting in the middle of the table. She sat down in the chair adjacent to her mother's.

"I couldn't sleep either," her mother said. "I feel like something bad's about to happen."

"...Like what?"

"I don't know..."

In the quiet of the night, the sound of horse hooves could be heard approaching from twenty feet away. Michonne sat up straighter, alert, and went to the window. She couldn't stop a swell of happiness from rushing up from her gut to swallow her heart when she saw Rick coming around the bend. 'He came back'.

Before even answering her mother's question of who it was, Michonne threw the door open.

 _~ With her sweetened breath, and her tongue so mean_

 _She's the angel of small death and the codeine scene ~_

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Rick almost jumped off of his horse before it came to a full stop when he saw Michonne standing there in the doorway. She was still there. And she had a welcoming smile on her face. He swore it could light up the whole night. He almost forgot what he had come there for until Michonne's smile faded when he _did_ bring his horse to a stop and jump off.

"You're not bringing anything?" she asked.

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Michonne stood there and listened to what Rick was saying and her happy heart started to fall. Again, he hadn't come back to stay.

The twins had gotten up due to the noise of voices and were now sitting in the living area with everyone else. Marsai was the only one who wasn't around to hear Rick telling them about his fiance's self-inflicted injury and how they were willing to try every way possible to get her better.

"So...you want us to come back and heal her? Is that what you're saying?" Michonne's mother asked.

"I can understand if you don't want to," Rick said. "And I won't blame you if you don't. But we want to try everything. If you don't want to come, though, I'll just tell 'em that you all were already gone when I got here."

Rick glanced at Michonne and she turned away from his eyes.

"Well..." Michonne's mother said. "I don't see what it would hurt...But I'll go alone. My oldest one is sick and I wanna leave Michonne and the twins here to watch over her."

"Mama!" Michonne protested.

"Hush, now," her mom reprimanded.

Michonne scowled. She turned her ire to Rick. "So you show up just to leave again," she said. "I don't see how your fiance is a problem of ours." She turned and stormed out of the room.

Rick didn't hesitate to follow her. "Excuse me for a moment," he said to everyone in the room.

He caught up to Michonne in their short hallway.

"Hey," he said. "I promise I'll bring her back."

Michonne shook her head and turned to face him. "If my mother had refused to come back with you, what would have done."

"Like I said, I would have told everyone that you all were already gone. I wouldn't have forced her."

"Even if it means your fiance might die?"

"She's not my fiance anymore," Rick rushed to explain. "I broke it off with her. And..." He looked down at his shoes bashfully before confessing to Michonne, "forgive me, but I don't think anyone has the power to heal anyone else unless it's through the use of medicine or the Good Lord himself."

"So why even bring her back in the first place?" Michonne asked.

Rick shrugged. "I wasn't plannin' on pushin' it...But your mother seems to believe she can do somethin'..."

Michonne sighed. "For a second, I actually believed you were coming back to stay."

"I am," Rick said. He gripped Michonne's arms in his hands. "Once I bring your mother back, we're on our way..."

Michonne nodded and Rick grinned. "What?" Michonne asked.

"Nothing," Rick said. "I know you're upset; it's just when I left this mornin', you were pushing me away. I'm just happy to know you were waiting for me to come back."

Michonne rolled her eyes. "Bring my mother back safe," she said.

"I will."

Rick leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss against Michonne's lips. "Next time I'll be back for good."

"We'll be waiting for you."

 _~ Feeling more human and hooked on her flesh I_

 _Lay my heart down with the rest at her feet_

 _Fresh from the fields, all feeder and fertile_

 _It's bloody and raw, but I swear it is sweet ~_


	5. Chapter 5

\- Thank you, KLSLAY, for the donation. This update is for you! -

Chapter 5: Foreigner's God

Michonne rushed to the kitchen where she was heating a pot of boiling water and garlic. When she saw that it was well-heated, she poured the brew into a nearby bowl and then rushed back to Marsai's room with the mixture of garlic water in her hands.

The twins were already in the room, taking turns placing a cool rag against Marsai's forehead.

Their oldest sister's fever just wasn't going down and Michonne didn't know what to do about it. She had expected the fever to break hours ago.

"Here," she said, sitting down on the bed and carefully holding the bowl out towards Marsai's lips.

"What is it?" Marsai asked.

"Hot water and garlic." Marsai jerked away from the smell and blocked the bowl from coming any closer by pushing it back towards Michonne.

She shook her head. "No. I'm not drinking that."

"You know she doesn't like garlic," Sara, the younger twin said.

"I know!" Michonne shot back, sharpness edging her tone since she was already anxious. "Do any of us? But what choice do I have? We don't have any ginger." Marsai moaned and held her stomach as if she felt pain there. Sweat made itself apparent on her skin. "See?" Michonne pushed. "Here. Drink this. And _don't_ push it away; it's hot. It might spill on you."

Marsai glared at Michonne for bossing her around, but she allowed her younger sister to put the bowl to her lips and tip the contents into her mouth. She winced against the taste but struggled it down.

"When is Mama comin' back?" Mara asked, a worried wrinkle creasing her forehead.

"I don't know," Michonne responded. "But I'm sure she'll know what to do when she gets here. We just have to wait until then."

"You think she'll be able to save that woman?" Sara asked.

Michonne frowned. "I don't know."

"If she _does_ save that woman, where does that leave you?" Mara asked Michonne, feeding off of her twin's curiosities. "I mean... _she's_ Rick's fiance. You're his girlfriend."

Michonne scowled at her tactless sisters. "Whether Mama saves that woman or not has nothing to do with whether or not Rick will come back. He's _going_ to come back."

"How do you know?" Sara asked.

"I just know," Michonne said. "Rick was never truly engaged to that woman. Not in his heart. I can tell."

Marsai chuckled weakly looking at her sister. "I thought you weren't waiting for him," she teased Michonne.

Michonne sighed. She hated to be teased but she knew Marsai was just making an accurate observation. She was trying to guard against feelings that had already taken root. She thought about Rick almost constantly and he made her curious. She cared for him. "Drink more," she told Marsai, ready to divert the attention elsewhere.

Marsai frowned but she drank more without a fight.

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 _For the second time that night, Michonne stood at the window waiting for Rick's arrival._

 _There was something about the night that made her feel a disturbing disquiet. "Hurry back. Please," she prayed fervently into the empty night._

 _0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000_

 _Rick felt a strained silence between himself and Michonne's mother. It may not have been a strained silence – she might have been as comfortable as anything with the lack of words, he didn't know. But_ _he_ _felt that the silence was strained._

 _He felt like he needed to get to know the older woman better._

 _She held onto the sides of his jacket so as not to fall off while the horse strided comfortably along. "You okay back there?" he asked, trying to strike up a conversation._

 _"_ _Yes." Her reply was short and to the point._

 _He noticed she didn't call him "sir", and he found he was quite happy with that fact. He only wondered if it was because she was letting him know that she wanted to lessen formalities since they would be growing closer over the years or if it was because she was letting him know that she didn't respect him at all and was very against him entering into a relationship with her daughter. He hoped it was the former reason. Or he hoped he was just overthinking things. Anything was okay as long as she wasn't disapproving of him._

 _"_ _...Your daughter's very pretty," he said. And then he could have hit himself out of embarrassment. If he wanted to prove to his girlfriend's mother that he was an honest and true gentleman, he realized her looks probably shouldn't be what he commented on first thing._

 _"_ _I know," her mother responded, not sounding very offended but her reply was still short so Rick couldn't help but to think that she didn't sound very pleased either._

 _"_ _I was thinking I might want to marry her..." Rick said nervously. He was met with silence. "I mean...i-if that's okay with you, that is." He was met with more silence. "I was thinking she and I could...get a house, settle down...maybe after a while have some kids." He vaguely wondered if he was going too far since her mother hadn't even answered yet, but the longer she stayed silent, the more he felt like he had to sell his vision of the happy home he could provide for Michonne. "I know it'll be difficult," he continued. "But if we commit to this-"_

 _"_ _Do you think you can protect my daughter, Mr. Grimes?"_

 _"_ _Yes, ma'am," Rick replied wholeheartedly. "I believe we can have a good life together."_

 _Another silence stretched between them until Michonne's mom finally responded. "...Good."_

 _"_ _...Good?" Rick asked, wanting to know more of what the older woman was thinking._

 _"_ _I don't know why our lives were supposed to be entangled with yours," the older woman said in a quiet voice that barely rose over the quiet noise of the forest stretching out on either side of them. "And I don't know what's best. Your very proximity to us could cost us our lives, but...fate is a funny thing. And sometimes it's best to let it play out than...try to fight it."_

 _"_ _So if you're sincere about protecting my daughter...I'll trust you."_

 _A wave of relief washed over Rick. He guessed this was the closest he was going to get to having her blessing. "I appreciate that ma'am," he said. "It means a lot. And I won't let you down."_

 _"_ _I'll hold you to it..." Michonne's mother said. "And call me Sabel..."_

 _They finished riding to the town in silence, and when they arrived...Jessie Anderson was on her last breath._

 _0000000000000000_

 _~ She moved with shameless wonder_

 _The perfect creature rarely seen_

 _Since some liar brought the thunder_

 _When the land was godless and free ~_

 _The room that held Jessie was crowded and hot. A fire blazed in the fireplace built into the structure of the home and Jessie lay on the bed, her body limp and her face pale. Red blood coated piles of cloth and the bedsheets next to her. It seemed that someone had tried to hurriedly and clumsily staunch the bleeding to little avail._

 _Her father had arrived and he was hovering over the bed with an anguished and distressed look about him. Rick's mother was also standing by her side and his fellow lawmen were hanging back in the corner._

 _When Rick entered the room, a heavy mood was palpable._

 _"_ _Oh, thank God, she's here," Rick's mother said when she looked up and saw her son come through the door with Sabel in tow. The face of Jessie's father didn't reflect any such relief. His frown deepened._

 _"_ _Do you think you can help her?" Rick asked Sabel quietly. To him, it appeared that Jessie was already gone._

 _"_ _She has a little breath left in her," Sabel replied. "Where there's life, there's hope."_

 _Shane wandered over next to Rick and touched his arm. Rick took a couple of steps away from the others to speak to him in private._

 _"_ _I don't think she's gon' make it," Rick said in a low voice. "And it's not gon' be pretty. No one wants that man on a rampage." He discreetly nodded towards Jessie's father. Rick looked at the old man, who already looked like he was one held breath away from imploding and he knew that Shane was right._

 _Jessie's father, Jeb, was a large man – just as wide as he was tall – and he owned all of the banks from three towns over. To say he was a powerful man was an understatement. The only person he answered to was the Governor and even then...the Governor could be swayed because Jeb handled his money._

 _"_ _I still don't quite understand what happened..." Shane said. "Jessie always seemed pretty well-balanced to me...For her to stab herself just 'cause you said you was movin' away...It don't make much sense." Rick shrugged. "Are you sure that's all it was about?" Shane asked. "Why were you breakin' up with her? Why not just take her with you?"_

 _Rick started to open his mouth to, once again, tell Shane that he just didn't love her, but he was interrupted by another voice filling the room._

 _"_ _Don't you lay a hand on her!"_

 _Rick turned around to see Jeb blocking Sabel from getting to Jessie._

 _"_ _Now, Jeb, let her try," Rick's mother said. She laid a hand on Jeb's arm and tried to get him to calm down. "I know it's unorthodox, but it's all we've got right now."_

 _"_ _No nigger woman's gonna touch my daughter with witchcraft!"_

 _Rick hurriedly stepped forward to diffuse the situation. Sabel was completely dwarfed by the man hovering well over six feet, but she stood unflinching before him. "Jeb-" Rick started._

 _"_ _That's Mister Sutton to you," he growled, turning a glare to Rick._

 _Rick guessed he had heard why Jessie had chosen to wound herself. "Mr. Sutton," Rick acquiesed. "We've tried everything medically possible. This is the only way. Miss Coor doesn't even want to be here; she was summoned by my mother. So she would have no qualms about turning around and leaving, but...do you really want to risk losing the chance that she could actually_ _do_ _something?"_

 _Jeb still glared, but his girth seemed to deflate._

 _He glared over Rick's shoulder at Sabel. "You think you can save my daughter's life?" he asked._

 _Sabel's voice was calm and steady when she replied. "If she lives, it is because she is meant to live."_

 _Jeb's expression furrowed into one of angry confusion so Rick just spoke to ease the situation over some more. "She'll do her best."_

 _Jeb continued to look reluctant, but he moved to the side. "You better save her life," he threatened coldly as Sabel made her way over to Jessie's bedside. "You just had better."_

 _A sliver of unease wove through Rick's body at Jeb's threat. Looking at the state Jessie was in, Shane was right. There wasn't much possibility of her coming back from that. If she survived, it would be nothing short of a miracle._

 _"_ _I'm gonna need a few things..." Sabel said, examining Jessie's pale form lying on the bed. "And then I'm gonna need to be alone with her."_

 _"_ _I'm not leavin' this room!" Jeb roared._

 _Rick held out his hand. "Is it okay if Jeb and I stay?" he asked Sabel._

 _Sabel considered for a moment and then she nodded._

 _"_ _Okay," Rick said, relieved about the compromise. "What items do you need?"_

 _"_ _I need a candle, incense, parsley, warm water, a bell...And I need the rest of these people gone."_

 _Rick nodded. Her firm voice broked no arguments. There would be no more compromises. "Alright, you heard the woman," he said to his fellow lawmen. "Everybody out."_

 _Everyone filed out of the room until only Rick, his mother, Jeb, and Sabel were left._

 _"_ _We should have some parsley and a candle already here," Rick's mother said. "Will any candle do?"_

 _"_ _Yes," Sabel said. "Any candle will do."_

 _"_ _Show me where they are, Mother," Rick prompted, knowing Sabel probably wanted her out of the room as well._

 _An expression of consternation settled on his mom's face and she hesitated, looking between Jessie and Sabel. "Fine," she finally said, turning on her heel to lead Rick out. "This way."_

 _It didn't take long at all for Rick to return with the items Sabel needed. The most difficult part after returning with the items was waiting around under the thick veil of tension while Sabel worked her magic._

 _He hoped she could work a miracle._

 _~ Her eyes look sharp and steady_

 _Into the empty parts of me_

 _But still my heart is heavy_

 _With the hate of some other man's beliefs ~_

 _000000000000000000000000000000000_

 _"_ _Michonne!"_

 _Michonne rushed into Marsai's room after hearing her sister's shrill scream. She hoped it wouldn't wake the twins, but then again, they slept like logs so she probably didn't have anything to worry about._

 _"_ _What is it?" she asked._

 _Her sister shivered against her bedsheets. Michonne made her way further into the darkened room and pulled her close to her chest. "What is it?" she asked again. Fear was clamping her heart._

 _"_ _I had...the scariest dream..." Marsai said. Her teeth chattered. Michonne rubbed her arms to warm her up. She found her sister's chill strange since the room wasn't that cold. And her body itself was burning up._

 _"_ _What was it about?" Michonne asked._

 _Marsai didn't answer for a while. She simply shivered next to Michonne, absorbing her body heat. But when she finally spoke, it sent a chill through Michonne's body._

 _"_ _...I think I'm dying..." Marsai said._

 _"_ _Don't say that," Michonne said quickly and firmly. The thought alone was unacceptable._

 _"_ _I'm not getting better," Marsai said. "And my bones...my bones feel like glass..."_

 _"_ _That doesn't mean you're dying," Michonne refuted. "You just have a fever. You'll get better."_

 _"_ _If I die..." Marsai started._

 _"_ _You won't!" Michonne rebutted firmly._

 _"_ _Okay, I won't. But_ _if..._ _"_ _Michonne tried to keep frustrated tears from falling down her cheeks. She didn't know where Marsai's sudden forboding was coming from, but it wasn't doing anything to help her nerves, which were already close to wrung out due to her worrying over their mother. "Make sure to take care of mother, okay? And the twins."_

 _"_ _I'll promise no such thing," Michonne said in a hard voice. "Because you're being ridiculous." She moved off of the bed and gently laid Marsai back against her pillow. "Now lay back while I bring you some more soup."_

 _She rushed to the kitchen and filled a bowl with shaking hands. When she realized her hands were trembling too much to get anything done properly, she took a moment. 'Please,' she thought, praying for Rick and her mother to arrive any minute. 'Please hurry and come back.'_

 _~ Always a well-dressed fraud_

 _Who wouldn't spare the rod_

 _Never for me ~_

 _000000000000000000000000000000000000_

 _No one spoke during the entirety of Sabel's ritual._

 _Finally, she drew away from Jessie's bedside, picked up the bell that she had asked for, and rang it once. Rick and Jeb watched her carefully as she knelt beside Jessie's beside once more and took the woman's hand in her own. She began to mutter softly._

 _"_ _What are you doing?" Jeb asked._

 _Sabel didn't answer him immediately. She finished up her soft whispers and then lifted her head. "I'm praying for her," she said. "Hoping that she'll have a smooth journey to the afterlife."_

 _Rick's heart dropped into his chest._

 _"_ _What does that mean?" Jeb asked, sounding genuinely confused for a moment. Then he stood up. "What does that mean?" he bellowed, pure anger in his voice._

 _"_ _There was nothing I could do for her," Sabel said. "She's gone. The best we can do now is pray for her spirit to be at peace."_

 _Jeb reminded Rick of the snakes he used to try to catch when he was a kid. They'd still at the sign of any threat and then spring forward, like a string filled with tension jerking forward upon release. And that's exactly what Jeb did._

 _He lunged towards Sabel, his body tense and angry. Anticipating his move, Rick leapt in front of him before he could reach her and pulled his gun on him. He knew he was physically no match for the other man. This seemed to be the only way he could stop him._

 _"_ _Don't do anything foolish," Rick warned. "Just go on outside and cool off."_

 _"_ _She killed my daughter!" Jeb bellowed._

 _"_ _We both know that's not true," Rick said. Rick's fellow lawmen poured into the room at the sound of Jeb's loud voice. "We both watched her the whole time," Rick continued, keeping his attention on the man looking to place blame. "There was nothing she could do; it was just too late."_

 _"_ _She could have been saved!" Jeb yelled, unwilling to listen to reason. "She cast some spell on her! Killed her!"_

 _"_ _I do not do anything against nature," Sabel interjected in a hard voice._

 _"_ _She didn't kill her, Jeb," Rick said, trying to get through to the other man. "You know that."_

 _"_ _What's going on?" Shane asked, stepping forward._

 _"_ _Jessie's dead," Rick answered, not taking his focus off of Jeb. "We're going to need funeral arrangements to be taken care of as soon as possible."_

 _"_ _I'll go get Joe..." Shane said, carefully shifting his eyes between Rick and Jeb._

 _"_ _No!" Jeb roared. "No one's going anywhere!" He didn't move but his hands stayed clenched at his sides. Apparently, it was taking all of his power not to. A vein bulged at his temple as well – physical evidence of his explosive temper. "My daughter can't be laid to rest until_ _someone_ _is brought to justice."_

 _Shane stayed where he was. He held his hands out just in case he needed to make a sudden move. His eyes continued to shift between the two people standing in confrontation._

 _"_ _And how would you suggest we do that, Jeb?" Shane asked, careful to keep his voice low so as not to anger the man any further._

 _"_ _We hang that voodoo witch!" Jeb roared._

 _Rick bristled at the man's bullheadedness and vileness. He thought back to the promise he had made Michonne. He had promised her that he would bring her mother back safe and sound. "That's not gonna happen," Rick said in a cold voice._

 _Rick's mother walked into the room and gasped at the sight in front of her. Jessie's dead body laid on the bed and her son held Mister Sutton at gunpoint. "Good Lord!" she gasped. "_ _What_ _is going on?!"_

 _"_ _Your boy here," Jeb sneered. "Is protecting the witch who murdered my child! Who knows? Maybe we should string him up as well. He seems to be awful friendly with that group lately! Being their personal bodyguard through town, now this! I wouldn't be surprised if one of those girls ain't got her hooks in him. Maybe that's why he's leavin' town!" Jeb's eyes blazed with fiery, accusatory passion. "Maybe that's why he broke my daughter's heart."_

 _Rick's mother's hand went over her heart. "Why, Jeb!" she gasped. "Why are you spouting such ridiculous things?! My son has nothing to do with those people!"_

 _"_ _Then why is he protecting them?!" Jeb bellowed louder._

 _"_ _Because it's my job," Rick sneered. "My job is to protect the citizens of this community-"_

 _"_ _She's not a part of this community!" Jeb yelled. He gestured toward Jessie's lifeless form. "My daughter was! My family is the backbone of this town! And, I tell you right now," he pointed his finger in Rick's face. "If you don't do what's right, and give my daughter justice, I'm going to bring a hammer down so hard on all of you that you'll be practically destitute by fall. Your husband never finished payin' off his loan," he said, turning to Rick's mother. "The very roof you're living under will be snatched away, by God! You know I can do it!"_

 _Claire, Rick's mother, grasped her chest. So much of the blood had drained from her face by the end of Jeb's speech that she resembled Jessie's lifeless form on the bed._

 _She held out her hand to Rick._

 _"_ _Rick..." she said. "What are you doing? Get away from there."_

 _Rick stared at his mother in disbelief. They had always disagreed on quite a few things, but he never knew she would be a woman such as this in a tight situation._

 _"_ _No," he said. "This woman is innocent. No one's going to touch her!"_

 _"_ _How do you know if she's innocent?" his mother asked him. "You don't know_ _what_ _she's capable of! None of us do!"_

 _"_ _I was in here the whole time!" Rick shouted. "Jessie bled out! There was nothing she could do!" He looked around the room for support, but everyone turned away from him. Finally, his eyes landed on Shane. "Shane..." he pleaded._

 _He was ready to fight tooth and nail to get Miss Sabel out of there safely, but a lot of his faith in humanity was crashing to the floor with each downward eye and shifted gaze._

 _He hoped his partner and best friend would not let him down._

 _Shane looked down and, for a moment, Rick's heart sank. But when Shane drew his gun and raised it, he was pointing it towards Jeb. "My friend here says the woman's innocent," he said. "I believe him..."_

 _Rick inwardly rejoiced. He knew years of friendship couldn't have been for nothing._

 _"_ _Take her and go," Shane said. "I'll hold him."_

 _Blood rose in Jeb's face and if he looked like he was about to explode before, he looked positively on the verge of combustion at the point when Rick grabbed Sabel's hand and headed toward the door, doing as Shane instructed._

 _"_ _Don't none of y'all stop him," Shane saidto the rest of the men. "The amount of times he's saved your lives, you owe him this much..."_

 _After a small moment of hesitation, the men stepped aside and peacefully let Rick go through the door with Sabel following after him._

 _"_ _You're gonna regret this..." Rick heard Jeb promise as he left the house. He ignored him. With Miss Sabel in tow, he fled as quickly as he could towards safety and towards Michonne._

 _~ Screaming the name of a foreigner's God_

 _Screaming the name of a foreigner's God_

 _Screaming the name of a foreigner's God_

 _The purest expression of grief ~_

 _\- Don't forget to find Lyra Verse on P atreon and donate to the writing cause! :D_

 _Each chapter of this fic is inspired by a Hozier song, so this fic will probably (probably, not guaranteed) be thirteen chapters. That's how many songs are on this particular Hozier album. I may end up ending this fic sooner, though. I haven't decided yet. -_


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Turning point in the story coming up.**

Chapter Six: Arsonist's Lullaby

The bowl in Michonne's hands dropped to the ground with a loud clatter. The contents spilled on the floor but went largely unnoticed. Michonne couldn't think or feel or speak for a full ten seconds. Until finally she managed a whispered...

"Marsai?"

Marsai's hand was hanging limply over the edge of the bed. Her whole body was limp. And there was something about the way her body laid that Michonne just knew...she wasn't just asleep.

 _~ When I was a child I heard voices_

 _Some would sing and some would scream_

 _You soon find you have few choices_

 _I learned the voices died with me ~_

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Rick hurried away from the town that had turned against him and that he was turning against. He needed to get Sabel away from there as quickly as possible. He was pretty certain no one was following them, but he knew Jeb would attempt to act on his threat. Sooner or later. And he was a powerful man who had a lot of reach. So the farther they could get away the better.

He felt Sabel's small body tense behind him, her arms tightening around his waist, and he spoke to reassure her of things he had been pondering. "It's okay," he said. "I don't think anyone's following us."

"It's not that," Sabel whispered. Her voice was anxious. "Something's wrong. Can you go faster?"

Rick's brow furrowed. He didn't know why Sabel was suddenly tense, but her foreboding must have been contagious. Because it immediately infected him as well. He dug his heels into the horse that was carrying them, and they sped forward.

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Michonne sat on the floor in the middle of the room staring at Marsai. She couldn't bring herself to go closer. If she didn't go closer, she could fool herself into believing that she was overthinking. That her mind was playing tricks on her. Maybe Marsai _was_ just sleeping. It appeared that way from this angle. If she stared long enough, she could swear to herself that maybe she saw an almost imperceptible breath coming in and out of her lungs.

She was numb. And afraid. There was no way this could happen so suddenly. There was no way the world could change so drastically over the course of just a few minutes.

 _~ When I was a child, I'd sit for hours_

 _Staring into open flame_

 _Something in it had a power_

 _Could barely tear my eyes away ~_

She didn't immediately hear the front door opening. Or the footsteps. But when she heard her mother's voice, "Michonne?" - she hurried to her feet, suddenly feeling as if there was hope for everything to be okay.

"Mama," she said, turning around and going immediately to her forever caregiver. The family's beacon. "Help Marsai."

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Rick knew something was wrong the minute he opened the door. The silence was eerie. The small, humble home seemed darker than usual. When he and Sabel walked farther in and saw the spilled porridge, the feeling increased.

His heart dropped to his stomach when his line of sight landed on Michonne sitting strangely in the middle of the room, almost collapsed. And then his eyes landed on Marsai. Marsai's body. His heart felt immediate pain. And more pain still when Michonne ran to her mother with hope in her eyes. For a moment, she was a scared little girl again who believed her mother had all the answers and could solve anything.

He wanted to hold her in his arms.

Sabel went over to her first daughter on the bed, and Rick would never forget the moment that followed for the rest of his life. He could swear he saw a part of her die as well right then and there, even as she stood. Her shoulders slumped and she moved forward slowly. She laid her hand against her daughter's face. "It's cold," Sabel said, her voice distant as if it was coming up from the depths of a well.

"Can you do something?" Michonne asked.

"We can help her to cross over," Sabel responded.

Rick watched the hope fade from Michonne's eyes. He knew she had been hoping for her mother to perform an impossible miracle. He walked over to offer her a comforting shoulder, but she walked away. It panged his heart, but he didn't have time to dwell on his sadness. Not in the face of their own.

"Is there anything I can do?" he asked.

"Could you go bring me water and a towel?" Sabel asked.

"Yes, ma'am," Rick responded. He hurriedly went to go do as he was asked, eager to help in any way he could. It was hard to believe that they had escaped death themselves about forty minutes ago, only to find it again in their own home.

On his way back with the bowl of water and a rag, Rick saw Michonne leaving the room. "Are you okay?" he asked. She wasn't crying or panicked; he figured her emotions hadn't had time to catch up with her yet.

"Should I wake the twins or let them sleep?" she asked, not responding to his question.

Rick had almost forgotten about the twins. They were still asleep in their room, unaware of what was happening.

"I would wake them," he answered. "I think they would want to know now."

"Why do you think that?" Michonne asked.

"Hmm?" Rick responded.

"I mean, why would you presume to know anything about what they would want," Michonne said. "You don't know them."

Taken aback, Rick allowed her to brush past him coolly. He carried the asked-for items into the room with Sabel.

Up close, he could see Marsai's peaceful face. It was hard to believe that no consciousness was within her anymore. No voice. No laughter. No sounds. She was gone. "I shouldn't have come to get you," Rick said, his voice raspy. "You could have been with her."

Sabel took the water and rag from him. "Don't start with the could'ves would'ves and should'ves," Sabel said. "Nobody did anything that life hadn't already set out for us." She began to gently wipe the wet towel across Marsai's face, washing her, as Rick was sure she had done many times before when Marsai was a baby. "And don't mind Michonne," Sabel continued quietly. "Her energy is misaligned right now. She doesn't know how to handle all of the emotions she must be feeling. Though she is the most responsible and mature one of my bunch, she's also quite innocent. Sheltered. She's never had to face anything like this before."

"Go help her through it," Sabel said, staring down at Marsai's figure on the bed. "Leave me alone with my eldest for a minute."

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Rick walked out of the room and closed the door gently behind himself. It didn't take him long to find Michonne. She was standing in the middle of the living room staring into the unlit fireplace. Just standing, unmoving, with her arms by her sides.

Rick approached her carefully.

"Did you wake the twins?" he asked softly, so as not to startle her.

She shook her head.

"...Do you want me to do it?" he asked.

She shook her head again.

He slowly made his way around to the front of her so that he could see her face, approaching her as he would an injured kitten. Her eyes didn't move to his face. She continued to stare at the charred wood of the fireplace.

He couldn't even begin to know the sorrow she felt. He had only seen them as a unit a stitch of times, but he knew even from those few instances, that they were a close knit family.

"I don't know what to do," Michonne finally uttered.

"You don't have to do anything," Rick said. "Anything you want, just tell me. I'll do it."

"It's like the whole world has changed," Michonne said. "Moving. What's the point? Speaking. There's nothing to say. Everything feels empty."

Rick had no good words to say. No reassurances he could offer. All he had was an embrace, which he gave to her freely.

Michonne's body was tense. Then she relaxed in his arms. He knew he had no way of salving the depth of her sorrow. But he hoped this small consolation would offer her some small warmth, offer her the knowledge that he was there for her.

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In the bedroom, Sabel's tears finally overflowed and drifted down her cheeks. While she cried, Marsai's eyelids fluttered. And her eyes opened. Glassy, dead eyes.

 _~ All you have is your fire_

 _And the place you need to reach_

 _Don't you ever tame your demons_

 _Always keep 'em on a leash ~_

 **A/N: So...Yep. This is happening. I've been planning on it since chapter one. Who caught the..."My bones feel like glass" hint in the previous chapter? Marsai said it, and that's what Jim said in the earlier seasons of TWD when he was turning.**

Also, visit my P atreon - search Duokomics - and see what I'm about and see if you wanna donate to my project. Love you guys!


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